Many people believe that drinking a glass of milk will help their heartburn. I can remember my grandmother telling us a glass of warm milk could help us with anything from having problems going to sleep to easing a sour stomach.
The truth is, drinking that glass of milk could have the opposite effect when it comes to nighttime heartburn. Eating anything too close to bedtime, especially if we overeat, can cause excess production of stomach acid. This in turn can cause heartburn.
Many people still swear by the soothing effects of drinking milk before bed. While milk may appear to ease the burn of acid reflux initially, there may be a rebound action later when this same milk triggers the production of stomach acid.
There are ways, however, of easing nighttime heartburn. One way is to eat a smaller meal at dinner, and not going to bed for two to three hours after eating.
For more tips on controlling nighttime heartburn, you can read this article on lessening nighttime heartburn.
Photo by woodsy (stock.xchng)
I suffered for years with GERD and milk never worked for me, either. Meds would work good for awhile and then I would have to switch to another med. I thought there was something physically wrong with me so I decided to have nissen fundoplication. Heartburn surgery proved not to be a quick fix. In fact, it turned out to be a living nightmare in my life. Today even after heartburn surgery, I try to eat several hours before going to bed.
Thanks for the great information. I always thought milk was a good heartburn treatment and was under the impression that it actually helped and not make things worse. Thanks for the info!
my parents told me to drink milk after i had a heartburn. i told them it was also an acid and would further lead to the problem, but they didn’t agree.
the article nicely addresses the problem
I suffer from heartburn often. I drink a glass of cold milk and it goes away on contact and never returns until a few days later when I have it again. I have read the above information ,but I go by if it works it works .